Chris Grosso The Indie Spiritualist

Guy Newland holds a Ph.D. in the History of Religions from the University of Virginia. He has worked with a great many Tibetan scholars and taught at five Dharma centers--all within the Dalai Lama’s school of Tibetan Buddhism. Since 1988 he has been a professor at Central Michigan University. His publications include The Two Truths (Snow Lion), Appearance and Reality (Snow Lion), Introduction to Emptiness (Snow Lion) and, in collaboration with others, Moonshadows: Conventional Truth in Buddhist Philosophy (Oxford).   Episode Outline: • Early Years – Guy briefly discusses his early years on the spiritual path, studying mystic Christianity, Hinduism, Sufism, his interest in experience rather than doctrine, cultivating compassion within ourselves and finding his home in the Buddhist lineage. • Traditions – Guy discusses some of the similarities and differences between Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. • Perception – Guy breaks down the teaching of the two truths—conventional truth and ultimate truth—using various e

Bio Diane Hamilton has been a practitioner of meditation for almost 30 years. She began her studies at Naropa University in 1983 with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and became a Zen student of Genpo Roshi’s in 1997. In 2003, she received ordination as a Zen monk with her husband Michael Zimmerman, and received dharma transmission from Roshi in 2006. Diane facilitates Big Mind Big Heart, a process developed by Genpo Roshi to help elicit the insights of Zen in Western audiences. She has worked with Ken Wilber and the Integral Institute since 2004.   Episode Outline: Tragedy/Spirituality – Diane discusses her early years on the spiritual path, losing seven of her friends to a series of accidents at the age of seventeen, which became a very significant catalyst in her spiritual life, studying with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and more.   Conflict Is Good News – In her book, Everything Is Workable, Diane writes, “To learn to transform conflict, we must let go of the notion that something or someone is wrong or bad,” wh

Matthew Fox is the author of over 30 books including The Hidden Spirituality of Men, Christian Mystics, and most recently Meister Eckhart. A preeminent scholar and popularizer of Western mysticism, he became an Episcopal priest after being expelled from the Catholic Church by Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI.

Sera Beak is a Harvard-trained scholar of comparative world religions. She spent years traveling the world studying spirituality – from whirling with Sufi dervishes to meeting the Dalai Lama on her 21st birthday. The New York Times has called Sera one of the new “role models” of our generation. Sera is the author of The Red Book: A Deliciously Unorthodox Approach to Igniting Your Divine Spark and Red Hot & Holy: A Heretic’s Love Story.

Mirabai Starr is author of CARAVAN OF NO DESPAIR: A Memoir of Loss and Transformation, new translations of the Spanish mystics, John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, and the award-winning book, GOD OF LOVE: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity & Islam. She leads contemplative inter-spiritual retreats worldwide. Episode Outline: The Transformational Power of Loss – Mirabai and I discuss her new book, Caravan of No Despair and how she lays her entire heart and guts out in a raw and unabashed way for readers to see. We also discuss the transformational power of loss and how that can be a great catalyst for change and growth in our life. On Suffering – Mirabai and I discuss Ram Dass’s quotes, “Suffering is the sandpaper of our incarnation. It does its job of shaping us” and how we can grow through our suffering. Mirabai also discusses the role the great mystic teachers can play in helping us to make sense of pain, loss and suffering. On Healing – We’re all human and we’re all recovering from so

Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. is a Nagual, a Toltec Master of Transformation. He is a direct descendant of the Toltecs of the Eagle Knight lineage and is the son of don Miguel Ruiz. By combining the wisdom of his family’s traditions with the knowledge gained from his own personal journey, he now helps others realize their own path to personal freedom. Episode Outline: • The Rebellious Heart – Miguel discusses his teenage years growing up with brother don Jose Ruiz and their eclectic love of the arts, including the music of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and The Cure, films such as the Lost Boys and Dead Poets Society (and more) and how they were often judged as not being “spiritual” as a result. • Spirituality, Don’t Pigeonhole It – Miguel discusses the importance of honoring our truths on the spiritual path and to see the spirituality in all of life rather than trying to pigeonhole it. He also talks about how honoring his truth led him to working in filmography earlier in his with such people as Missy Elliott, Michael Sti

Bio   Jessica Pimentel may be most well known for her role as Maria Ruiz on the Netflix hit series, Orange Is The New Black, but she’s also an amazing musician who sings for Alekhine’s Gun (amongst other musical projects) and a longtime practitioner in the Gelugpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage.   Episode Outline:   Finding Your Way – Jessica outlines her early spiritual journey, which consisted of Christianity and bible study, Native American culture, Jainism, Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism and ultimately, Tibetan Buddhism.   Hardcore Music – There’s an ever growing number of old school punk/hardcore “kids” that are finding their way into spirituality these days. Books such as Noah Levine’s Dharma Punx, Brad Warner’s Hardcore Zen and my own Indie Spiritualist speak to this. Jessica talks about what first attracted her to this music and going to the bands shows, as well as what’s kept her there since.   Hardcore Spirituality – Jessica and I discuss the correlation between the punk/hardcore movement that has led so

Loch Kelly, M.Div., LCSW is the author of, Shift into Freedom: The Science and Practice of Open-Hearted Awareness. He is an educator, licensed psychotherapist and recognized leader in the field of nondual meditation who was asked to teach Sutra Mahamudra by Mingyur Rinpoche and nondual meditation by Adyashanti. Loch has worked in community mental health, established homeless shelters and counseled family members of 9/11. He is the founder of the non-profit Open-Hearted Awareness Institute. Loch collaborates with neuroscientists at Yale, UPenn and NYU to study how awareness training can enhance compassion and wellbeing. Visit lochkelly.org.

As a person in long term recovery from depression, trauma, self harm and substance abuse, compassionate and effective treatment of adolescent health is mission critical to Jamison Monroe. He is the Founder and CEO of Newport Academy, a series of healing centers for teens and families struggling with mental and behavioral health issues. With locations in California, Connecticut and New York City, Newport Academy encompasses four state of the art residential treatment programs, two comprehensive outpatient programs, and three nationally recognized therapeutic high schools designed specifically for teens in recovery. 
An Executive Producer of a truly game changing documentary about the prescription drug abuse epidemic among our nation's youth called Behind The Orange Curtain, Monroe, is a regular national news contributor on the topic of adolescent mental health to CNN, HLN, CBS and other major news outlets. Monroe has testified in front of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on the subject of teen prescription

Dana Sawyer is a full-time Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the Maine College of Art, and an adjunct professor of Asian Religions at the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine. He is the author of two critically acclaimed spiritual biographies, of Aldous Huxley (2002) and Huston Smith (2014), and has written on a wide range of topics related to consciousness expansion, Tibetan Buddhism, Hindu mysticism, psychedelic experience, and alternative philosophies. Besides teaching at the academic level, Prof. Sawyer is a popular speaker on the lecture circuit, having taught workshops at the Esalen Institute, the Kripalu Institute, and other such centers of psychological, spiritual and philosophical inquiry. His work has appeared in Tricycle, the Buddhist Review, Parabola magazine, Yoga Journal and other such publications.

Jonas Elrod is a southern writer and director, grew up in GA with a deep appreciation for story as a means for change. He fell in love with stories told on porches late at night of fallen heroes, misfit love, and spiritual redemption. His appreciation for personal truth and deeper meaning has been a compass for his fiction and non-fiction work. His first documentary feature is Wake Up, which premiered at South by Southwest Film Festival. Wake Up found a wide audience in theaters across the country and was the premier episode on the Emmy award winning Super Soul Sunday on the Oprah Winfrey Network. The film was partnered with an interview by Oprah Winfrey. Jonas' latest project is directing and hosting a series for the Oprah Winfrey Network titled, In Deep Shift with Jonas Elrod, which is an unflinching look at what walking a spiritual path looks like. The series tracks Jonas as he travels across the country in search for people whose lives are forever changed by breakdown and breakthrough experiences.

JP Sears is an emotional healing coach, international teacher, world traveler, and curious student of life. His work empowers people to live more meaningful lives. JP presents classes, workshops, online seminars, and leads retreats at numerous locations around the world on inner healing and growth. He is also very active on his YouTube channel, AwakenWithJP, where he encourages healing and growth through his entertainingly informative and inspiring videos.

Liam is a world-renowned musician, a not-so-famous writer, rookie father, and avid psychonaut; most well known for his long-term tenure playing bass with the Dillinger Escape Plan. His other interests include traveling, yoga, meditation and most topics that fall under the umbrella of “mindfulness.” Liam lives in Philadelphia.

Tommy Rosen is a yoga teacher, writer, and addiction recovery expert who has spent the last two decades immersed in yoga, recovery and wellness. Tommy has certifications in both Hatha and Kundalini Yoga and Meditation. He is one of the pioneers in the burgeoning field of Yoga and Recovery and has over twenty years of experience assisting others to holistically transcend addictions of all kinds. Tommy is the founder of Recovery 2.0: Beyond Addiction Conference and also leads the Recovery 2.0 #MoveBeyond Coaching Program. He presents workshops annually at Esalen, and Kripalu. Tommy’s first book, Recovery 2.0: Move Beyond Addiction and Upgrade Your Life was published by Hay House in 2014. Tommy and his wife, noted yoga teacher, Kia Miller, live and teach in Venice, CA.

Keli is an ex-punkrocker, mother of three amazing kids. She joined the Hare Krishna’s when she was 19, but she remembers loving Krishna way before then. She and her husband Saci own Equal Vision Records. Keli also teaches yoga, chant kirtan and loves dark chocolate with peanut butter. • Hare Krishna – Keli discusses her childhood in upstate New York and how at 7 years old, while visiting a nearby ashram, she saw a picture of the universal form of Krishna, which led to an immediate heart and soul experience for her. She also discusses the influence that the Mahabharata Comic Books and movie Gandhi had on her at an early age. • Rebellious Spirit –Keli and I take a stroll down punk/hardcore memory lane as we discuss our introductions to it during our teenage years. From Keli seeing Black Flag in 1986 to our parents supporting our involvement in the punk/hardcore scene and much more, we cover a lot of old school ground. • Krishna-Core – Keli discusses playing guitar with the legendary hardcore band 108 while livi

Miguel Chen is the bassist for punk rock band Teenage Bottlerocket, as well as a Buddhist practitioner and a yoga-teacher in training at Blossom Yoga Studio in Laramie, Wyoming. He also has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Wyoming, which he someday hopes to use for something, seriously anything!

Episode Outline: The Beatles and… Kittens – David discusses in detail his work on the wildly successful MGM Beatles biopic that he wrote. Iron Filings to Magnets – Karmic forces in the universe? You bet… and David talks about his personal experiences with them, noting particularly how they led to his meeting Ram Dass, Krishna Das and more for the first time. Not Superstar, Messenger – David shares about his experience not only working with the legendary Bob Marley, but more importantly, their friendship and how it changed his life. He also recounts a Bob Marley concert that he, Ram Dass, Krishna Das and more were at and the impact it had on them. Donkey’s Years – From Maharishi and TM to Ram Dass and Maharjji and more, David discusses his spiritual journey and experiences from the beginning to present day. Maharajji Satsang – David talks about his decades long relationship with the Maharajji satsang, which, in 2006, led to his helping them on various video endeavors and how it’s taken him deeper into his own